Author's Note: Ward is injured and loses some of his memories this time, and Skye has to break it to him that his cover's been blown.

The blow to the head knocked Ward out, and a worried Skye screeched for Jemma the second he collapsed. "We'll get him to medical right away. But don't worry, Skye, he's going to be fine," the biochemist assured her best friend.

"You don't know that!"

Jemma winced. "I know you're upset but please don't yell." And since they weren't allowed in the room while the doctor assessed Ward's condition, the two women stayed out in the hallway and waited impatiently for answers.

Three hours after the accident (Skye blamed herself entirely and wouldn't blame Ward if he hated her), a nurse finally came out. "He's awake but he has some gaps in his memory."

"He has amnesia?" Skye couldn't really deal with the fact that this had happened to one of them, Ward especially.

"Yes. And he's asking for one of his team members."

"You go in." Jemma figured Skye would be welcomed more since Ward loved her (even though those two idiots refused to admit it).

"Thanks, Jem." Skye ran into the room and sighed in relief when she saw Ward lying down in the gurney.

"Hey."

"Hey. So you can't remember some stuff?" she questioned.

"Apparently not? It's 2015 now and the last clear event I can remember is saving you after the Clairvoyant shot you."

She cringed and knew she had to tell him the truth. It wasn't right to keep him in the dark about this. "Yeah, about that…"

Ward wasn't thinking straight but he could tell when something was wrong. "What?"

"Um, I think I hate to tell you this but your cover was blown a few weeks after I got shot." She cringed in anticipation of his reaction.

He laughed. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied frantically. How could his cover be blown? And why was he apparently still with them if it had been? None of this made any sense.

Skye tilted her head. "Oh, Grant. Hydra came out of the woodwork and you had to go help Garrett. You did a lot of bad things but you've paid the price for them – you were in prison for a while until we broke you out and that's a long story for another day – and are working towards redemption. You've been trying to erase the red in your ledger for a long time now."

If he hadn't already been lying down, Ward was sure he'd need to sit down. "What?" he said again.

Skye struggled not to laugh at his response. "This is a lot to take in, huh? But it's okay because Garrett can't hurt you anymore."

Ward cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

She hated this part and cursed John Garrett's existence again. "We know all about the woods and Buddy and the beatings."

His mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh." He honestly couldn't come up with anything to say to that. Garrett had only been trying to help him be a better man; ensure he didn't have any weaknesses.

"You're seeing a therapist now who's helping you deal with the fact that you're a lifelong abuse victim and it seems to be helping. I hope this doesn't cause a backslide because you've been working hard to pull yourself together. We're – I'm – proud of you, Grant Douglas."

"Thanks?" He really didn't know how to process all this because it was too much. And now Ward had one last question. "What happened to John?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I know you cared about him even though he was a psychopath who hurt you and others so I'm sorry to tell you this. He was killed not long after SHIELD fell."

And Grant Ward's world fell apart once more before he could even comprehend it.